So, yesterday my BIL Paul sent me a link to look at this!
It looks super good and super freaky! This was my second favorite book in series so I have high hopes for the movie!
Apparently the trailer was just released yesterday, I'm so glad Paul called and let me know! Thanks Paul! :0)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Finally! - F.O. - Fair Isle Sweater Finishing Part II
It is finally done! And only ten months in the making! But Toni, the teacher from my LYS who has been helping me with the finishing, told me that an adult fair isle sweater will usually take her a year to complete so I guess it's okay. And I have done a lot of other things, lots of other F.O.'s in the meantime. Here are the rest of the finishing photos. I didn't take any photos of doing the neckband, sorry about that. What I did was pick up and knit stitches just beneath my steek, then I picked up the live stitches I still had at the back of the neck and went back and forth in K2P2 ribbing like at the wrists and waist until I had about 1-3/4" of ribbing. I did the ribbing in navy. I didn't feel like having a lot of color changes at the neck and I thought the navy would look best , I consider the navy my base color for this project. Then I cut the two halves of the neck out. To prepare to cut the center steek, I first picked up and knit the stitches that would make up both sides of the button band. I did the button side first, easier, no buttonholes. I followed the striping pattern in color that I used at the waist and wrists, although with fewer rows. I had to calculate the space for the buttonholes and the placing of them before doing the other side of the button band. Once that was figured out I followed the same striping pattern as on the button side. Then it was finally time to cut the center steek!
Here we are ready to go! Dave and I even have our ceremonial shots of whiskey!
Cutting this steek was more nerve racking than the others. I was somewhat confidant that it would all work out reasonably well, but this steek felt a lot more like I was gutting my sweater and if it went wrong I was going to be hosed!
I pushed on! Starting to cut!
And here is the completed article! I don't have any photos of me securing the buttons on, but after cutting the center steek there was only two things left to do. First, I had to tack down both fringes from the center steek so the fringes were tucked away and there was no worry about unraveling. Then I had to just sew the buttons on. Toni helped me with this too, because I've never sewn into knitting before. One thing that was really serendipitous was that my original teacher from the fair isle class, Cleary, happened to be in the store yesterday and so she was able to see that I had indeed finished. She said that made her day. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. After I finished putting on the final button I looked at it and I got teary because I think it's so beautiful and it reminds me so much of my mom! I think she'll like it, or at least she will lie convincingly to me! Here is a close up of the buttons.
The buttons I bought back in February at Madrona. They are Celtic knot work. I think the silver really stands out nicely on the navy. It may seem kind of strange to have Celtic buttons on a Nordic sweater, but my mom is a Nordic Celt! My grandmother's family was from Denmark and my grandfather was from Scotland. So, there you go. Here is a kind of lengthy video of me cutting the center steek. It also has some of Winston with a sock. Dave did the filming for me this time so the voice you hear in the background is my DH.
I owe a big THANKS to Cleary for teaching the class and to Toni for helping me with the finishing!! I really learned a lot from doing this project. When it was done Toni gave me a big hug, it was great! I think I'm a better knitter, at least I hope I am, as a result. I'll make sure to let you know what happens when mom opens it, I plan on wrapping it, it is her mother's day present after all. I have to clean it first, it has traveled a lot and been loved a lot by Winston's hair!
I hope she likes it!
Here we are ready to go! Dave and I even have our ceremonial shots of whiskey!
Cutting this steek was more nerve racking than the others. I was somewhat confidant that it would all work out reasonably well, but this steek felt a lot more like I was gutting my sweater and if it went wrong I was going to be hosed!
I pushed on! Starting to cut!
And here is the completed article! I don't have any photos of me securing the buttons on, but after cutting the center steek there was only two things left to do. First, I had to tack down both fringes from the center steek so the fringes were tucked away and there was no worry about unraveling. Then I had to just sew the buttons on. Toni helped me with this too, because I've never sewn into knitting before. One thing that was really serendipitous was that my original teacher from the fair isle class, Cleary, happened to be in the store yesterday and so she was able to see that I had indeed finished. She said that made her day. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. After I finished putting on the final button I looked at it and I got teary because I think it's so beautiful and it reminds me so much of my mom! I think she'll like it, or at least she will lie convincingly to me! Here is a close up of the buttons.
The buttons I bought back in February at Madrona. They are Celtic knot work. I think the silver really stands out nicely on the navy. It may seem kind of strange to have Celtic buttons on a Nordic sweater, but my mom is a Nordic Celt! My grandmother's family was from Denmark and my grandfather was from Scotland. So, there you go. Here is a kind of lengthy video of me cutting the center steek. It also has some of Winston with a sock. Dave did the filming for me this time so the voice you hear in the background is my DH.
I owe a big THANKS to Cleary for teaching the class and to Toni for helping me with the finishing!! I really learned a lot from doing this project. When it was done Toni gave me a big hug, it was great! I think I'm a better knitter, at least I hope I am, as a result. I'll make sure to let you know what happens when mom opens it, I plan on wrapping it, it is her mother's day present after all. I have to clean it first, it has traveled a lot and been loved a lot by Winston's hair!
I hope she likes it!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A Boy & His Bully Stick
Winston loves to have Bully Sticks! We get them for him at Paw Prince, a local doggie boutique. What is great about them is that with all of Winston's allergies it is hard to find things that he can eat that don't upset him. When he was a puppy he had a very bad experience with a Greenie, which usually dogs do okay with and love. The Bully Stick is 100% beef and it is hormone free, totally natural beef too. Winston usually only gets these every now and then for special occasions - like Christmas or his birthday. I happened to have one though and decided he could have one for my birthday too. I took a little video of him enjoying it, there is nothing quite like my boy in action! Enjoy!
Isn't he a cutie!
Isn't he a cutie!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Fair Isle Finishing - Part One
Okay, so I didn't make my goal of having a finished sweater for my mom on my birthday. This finishing stuff has a lot of steps and rather than put them all in one giant post, it may be better to do it in a couple of phases. After I finished knitting all the pieces I needed assistance to figure out how to put them all together. So, I traveled to the Yarn Branch to get help from the fabulous Toni. First, she had me mark out with a contrasting thread the line I will follow in attaching my sleeves to the body tube. It is important to note that I already had used a sewing machine to reinforce the armhole and the center steeks. I did this at the last class meeting in April, but at that time I had not finished knitting the sleeves so there wasn't much more to do with the steeks until there were sleeves to attach. Heather took photos of the sewing of the steeks, but I forgot to include them in this post.
Toni said to me, "After you've got it all marked off, the thing you need to do next is cut", then she went off to help a customer. So, I was left to my own devices to cut my first steek ever! She did advise, since I had two purl stitches to mark each armhole steek, that I do it from the reverse side where those two stitches are easier to see and where it would be easier to cut down the middle between them. Here it goes!
I even managed to shoot a short video of this event:
After cutting one side I then needed to join the shoulder seam together before I could attach a sleeve. This was done with a three needle bind off, no problemo! It is really stable and strong and it looks nice too!
After doing the same thing on the other side the next thing I needed to worry about was the neckband. Actually, before a single cut was made, I needed to mark out where the neckband steek would be so that I could see how many stitches were involved in each shoulder. I used the measurements I took from my mom and put marking pins at the center for how deep it would go and also at each top edge. Then, I used bright yellow embroidery floss to mark out the approximate path that I would take with the sewing machine to make the neckband steek.
So here is the body tube with both armhole steeks cut and the shoulder seams knit together and the neckband steek's path.
Here's a close-up of the neckband steek. All the other steeks use just a straight sewing stitch, but this one uses a zig-zag to give it more stretch. I had to go to Lou's house to do this steek because I did not get this one done at the last class meeting in April. I don't own a sewing machine, and I couldn't very well go and use my mom's without totally ruining the surprise. She doesn't read this blog so I don't have to worry about this ruining anything.
Here it is with the sleeves attached. Since this was only my second time doing a sweater where the sleeves have to be sewn in I think I did really well and this time felt a lot easier to me. I still prefer knitting where you just pick up and knit stitches to make the sleeves, but these set in sleeves have their place too and they create a different look to the finishing.
Part two of the finishing will show the neckband, cutting the center steek, the button band and the buttons. It's getting closer and closer to done!
Toni said to me, "After you've got it all marked off, the thing you need to do next is cut", then she went off to help a customer. So, I was left to my own devices to cut my first steek ever! She did advise, since I had two purl stitches to mark each armhole steek, that I do it from the reverse side where those two stitches are easier to see and where it would be easier to cut down the middle between them. Here it goes!
I even managed to shoot a short video of this event:After cutting one side I then needed to join the shoulder seam together before I could attach a sleeve. This was done with a three needle bind off, no problemo! It is really stable and strong and it looks nice too!
After doing the same thing on the other side the next thing I needed to worry about was the neckband. Actually, before a single cut was made, I needed to mark out where the neckband steek would be so that I could see how many stitches were involved in each shoulder. I used the measurements I took from my mom and put marking pins at the center for how deep it would go and also at each top edge. Then, I used bright yellow embroidery floss to mark out the approximate path that I would take with the sewing machine to make the neckband steek.
So here is the body tube with both armhole steeks cut and the shoulder seams knit together and the neckband steek's path.
Here's a close-up of the neckband steek. All the other steeks use just a straight sewing stitch, but this one uses a zig-zag to give it more stretch. I had to go to Lou's house to do this steek because I did not get this one done at the last class meeting in April. I don't own a sewing machine, and I couldn't very well go and use my mom's without totally ruining the surprise. She doesn't read this blog so I don't have to worry about this ruining anything.
Here it is with the sleeves attached. Since this was only my second time doing a sweater where the sleeves have to be sewn in I think I did really well and this time felt a lot easier to me. I still prefer knitting where you just pick up and knit stitches to make the sleeves, but these set in sleeves have their place too and they create a different look to the finishing.
Part two of the finishing will show the neckband, cutting the center steek, the button band and the buttons. It's getting closer and closer to done!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!
Today is the day of my birth! All in all it was a fun day, but probably the biggest news is that this incredibly cold and generally unpleasant summer continues in Anchorage - there was SNOW on my birthday! In Anchorage! Now, to be fair, I'm not talking about downtown Anchorage, we are talking at around the 3,000 foot level in the mountains surrounding our beautiful city. But, for those of you familiar with Anchorage - Dave saw snow on the top of Flattop Mountain today when he was driving home! SNOW! In July! If I was in the southern hemisphere this would not be bad, but Anchorage summers generally help to make the winters bearable: the increased hours of daylight, the land of the midnight sun, we soak up as much Vitamin D as we can to store it through the much darker winter. Sigh. I know I'm whining, but this is the coldest summer on record for Anchorage and actually for the state of Alaska as a whole. I feel like I've missed out on summer somehow and school starts soon. I guess I need a vacation!
What did I do for my birthday? Well, I had a job interview, so that was pretty much my morning. In the afternoon my mom and I went to see "Mamma Mia", it was a lot of fun! I had seen the play in San Francisco four years ago and I was looking forward to seeing the movie. I'm also a big fan of a number of the folks in the film. Not to mention it was filmed on a Greek island and it was beautiful to look at the scenery...very warm. Maybe I should go to Greece?? Tonight my family got together to have a turkey dinner. It is my dad's gift to me - he cooks a GREAT turkey and he makes it for me each year on my birthday. Thanks Dad!
What about the Fair Isle sweater? Well, it turns out (& honestly I already knew this but was ignoring it) that I knit a lot faster in my head than I do with my hands. What a shocker! I seem to do everything a lot faster in my head... oh well. In any case, I didn't get it completed for my birthday. I have eight more rows on the button band, including the button holes themselves. Then I cut the middle steek and tack down the edges on the inside of the sweater. Sew on the buttons and ta da! It will be done. I'm going to do the 8 rows today and cut the steek when Dave gets home so we can cut it with a ceremonial shot of whiskey. I'm going to need assistance with the best way to securely attach the buttons. So, back to the knitting shop! And, of course, I'll need to wash it because it is covered in Winston's contribution to my effort. Will post photos soon, I promise. I'm really ready to be finished with this project, but I have to admit that it is turning out quite lovely and I can't believe that it has come together so nicely! You'll see what I mean once I post!
What did I do for my birthday? Well, I had a job interview, so that was pretty much my morning. In the afternoon my mom and I went to see "Mamma Mia", it was a lot of fun! I had seen the play in San Francisco four years ago and I was looking forward to seeing the movie. I'm also a big fan of a number of the folks in the film. Not to mention it was filmed on a Greek island and it was beautiful to look at the scenery...very warm. Maybe I should go to Greece?? Tonight my family got together to have a turkey dinner. It is my dad's gift to me - he cooks a GREAT turkey and he makes it for me each year on my birthday. Thanks Dad!
What about the Fair Isle sweater? Well, it turns out (& honestly I already knew this but was ignoring it) that I knit a lot faster in my head than I do with my hands. What a shocker! I seem to do everything a lot faster in my head... oh well. In any case, I didn't get it completed for my birthday. I have eight more rows on the button band, including the button holes themselves. Then I cut the middle steek and tack down the edges on the inside of the sweater. Sew on the buttons and ta da! It will be done. I'm going to do the 8 rows today and cut the steek when Dave gets home so we can cut it with a ceremonial shot of whiskey. I'm going to need assistance with the best way to securely attach the buttons. So, back to the knitting shop! And, of course, I'll need to wash it because it is covered in Winston's contribution to my effort. Will post photos soon, I promise. I'm really ready to be finished with this project, but I have to admit that it is turning out quite lovely and I can't believe that it has come together so nicely! You'll see what I mean once I post!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Yes - I'm still alive
That is what I told my dad today when he called to ask if I was still on this planet. It is important to note though that he did see me two days ago, which I reminded him of. What have I been up to?? Well, a few things, unfortunately very little bike riding. It has been raining, and raining, and raining and cold here lately. The high today is 55 degrees. Sigh. I realize that I can ride my bike in the rain, but unless it is just really lightly sprinkling I don't like to because I don't like getting soaked through. I already get soaked through when I walk Winston. Luckily today we got out early enough in the morning that we missed the rain! It was looking like today was going to be a bike riding day, but alas, then the rain came. What's predicted for the future? Rain tomorrow, rain on Wednesday and possible rain on Thursday. This summer has been really cloudy, lots of rain, and not very warm. There have been fewer than five sunny days.
What else? Well, on Saturday I did the Men's Cancer Research Run with Dad and Lou. It is a 5-miler through downtown Anchorage, it was a lot of fun! It wasn't raining and I got to ride my bike to and from the start! Lou ran ahead because she's a runner, I try not to run unless being chased. Dad and I speed walked, and we were pleased with our time. Mostly though I've been feverishly trying to finish the sweater for my mom. I'm close to done. I have photos, but I need to upload them. I'll put it all together into one big post here soon...hopefully tomorrow. Might as well, its only going to be raining outside!
What else? Well, on Saturday I did the Men's Cancer Research Run with Dad and Lou. It is a 5-miler through downtown Anchorage, it was a lot of fun! It wasn't raining and I got to ride my bike to and from the start! Lou ran ahead because she's a runner, I try not to run unless being chased. Dad and I speed walked, and we were pleased with our time. Mostly though I've been feverishly trying to finish the sweater for my mom. I'm close to done. I have photos, but I need to upload them. I'll put it all together into one big post here soon...hopefully tomorrow. Might as well, its only going to be raining outside!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I am in LOVE!
With this:
This is my early birthday gift to me! It is my almost mid-life crisis. It is an Electra Hawaii Custom 3 - a cruiser! I have wanted one of these for almost 8 years now. My sister Lou bought one around 7 or 8 years ago when she lived in Boise, Idaho. I was visiting and she let me take a ride and I was SOLD! However, I had no money so it took me awhile to gather the correct funds and to find the perfect bike (read here: Green). All the cosmos aligned for me on Saturday when I went to Sunshine Sports and talked with Zach about cruisers. This baby wasn't out on the floor but he showed me a picture of it and told me he had it in back and that if I returned on Monday around 4pm he would have it built so I could look at it in person. I was there by 4:20.
Here's another view:
It has three speeds, and coaster brakes, and a basket for my knitting, and a big seat for my big seat! It reminds me of the bicycle I had when I was a little girl, but that had only one speed and no basket (and no knitting). I've totally been enjoying riding it around on the smallest of errands last night and today! It's fantastic! I think the bell really says it all:
Yeah! ;0)
This is my early birthday gift to me! It is my almost mid-life crisis. It is an Electra Hawaii Custom 3 - a cruiser! I have wanted one of these for almost 8 years now. My sister Lou bought one around 7 or 8 years ago when she lived in Boise, Idaho. I was visiting and she let me take a ride and I was SOLD! However, I had no money so it took me awhile to gather the correct funds and to find the perfect bike (read here: Green). All the cosmos aligned for me on Saturday when I went to Sunshine Sports and talked with Zach about cruisers. This baby wasn't out on the floor but he showed me a picture of it and told me he had it in back and that if I returned on Monday around 4pm he would have it built so I could look at it in person. I was there by 4:20.
Here's another view:
It has three speeds, and coaster brakes, and a basket for my knitting, and a big seat for my big seat! It reminds me of the bicycle I had when I was a little girl, but that had only one speed and no basket (and no knitting). I've totally been enjoying riding it around on the smallest of errands last night and today! It's fantastic! I think the bell really says it all:
Yeah! ;0)
152
That's how many ends had to be woven in on ONE of the sleeves for my mom's Fair Isle sweater! The good news is that all the pieces are completed and the majority of the weaving that will need to be done is also completed. What is left? Well, cutting the steeks for the sleeves and then attaching said sleeves, binding off the shoulders (3-needle bind off, a piece 'o cake), cutting the steek for the front of the neckband, knitting the neckband, knitting the button bands, cutting the center cardigan steek, and finally attaching the buttons. It sounds like a lot, still, but I think it is not as much as it sounds....at least that's my hope. The sad news is that I can't move forward until I get into my LYS to get some assistance. I've only attached sleeves to a sweater once before and that was with help and it was a year and a half ago. So, this is an area where I have little experience, more new territory! The other sad news is that the LYS I use has four knitters on staff (its more of a quilt store actually) and three of the knitters are on vacation so I can't move forward on this until Thursday, when the lone remaining knitter is in.
Oh well, I guess that just means its time to cast on something new!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Christmas in July!
It has started snowing here in Anchorage! You can see the fluffy white stuff floating around Dave as he wears an astonished "Oh no!" expression. No, it is not the fluffy white stuff that we see in the months of October through March, it is the snow of summer - cottonwood seeds!
Here's our accumulation for the day. It was a nicer day in Anchorage today and there was a gentle breeze that helped these little seeds take flight and then gather on my pathetic excuse for a lawn.
They are everywhere! I then they get stuck - in your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth. I was playing with the boys on their trampoline and it was a cottonwood seed horror flick - Attack of the Killer Cottonwood Seeds - definitely a B movie.
The good news is that this little bit of warmth and sunshine has finally encouraged my lilac to bloom!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Marathon Knitting
I really enjoyed Naomi's post today about how knitters are athletes. Her post was actually about how it is important to take care of your body when you are engaged in marathon knitting. I can sympathize because I feel like I've been engaged in some serious marathon knitting lately! I knit like crazy to get the Oregon Duck socks completed before Tyler headed home so he could take them to his mom. I even said that it was an adult sock record for me (I'm not the fastest knitter, I enjoy knitting immesely, I generally finish projects, but I tend to take longer than most everyone I know)! And since Tyler's departure I finished the simple baby hat and then I've been working like crazy on my mom's Fair Isle sweater. When I started the sweater in September I had a few fleeting thoughts that it would make a wonderful Christmas present. Christmas! HA! It didn't take me long to realize that Christmas was not going to happen for this sweater. Then I became very, very focused on Mother's Day. But working full time, taking two classes, and knitting the sweater became a daunting task too. I really tried for Mother's Day, but then Mother's Day came and went.
The good news is that all my marathon knitting seems to be paying off! I have completed the second sleeve. I need to weave in all the ends, which will take a bit, and then I can start putting all the pieces together. I'm currently working on the second pocket. Then I have the cutting of the steeks, the attaching of the arms to the body tube, the neckband, the button bands and sewing on the buttons. I am still in the tunnel, but I'm finally starting to see a litle light, it may be the end!
My birthday is just around the corner. I'm thinking now that there can't be a greater gift to myself than finishing this (my largest undertaking ever) sweater for my mom! Wish me luck!
The good news is that all my marathon knitting seems to be paying off! I have completed the second sleeve. I need to weave in all the ends, which will take a bit, and then I can start putting all the pieces together. I'm currently working on the second pocket. Then I have the cutting of the steeks, the attaching of the arms to the body tube, the neckband, the button bands and sewing on the buttons. I am still in the tunnel, but I'm finally starting to see a litle light, it may be the end!
My birthday is just around the corner. I'm thinking now that there can't be a greater gift to myself than finishing this (my largest undertaking ever) sweater for my mom! Wish me luck!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Happy Birthday Heather!
Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Friend Heather!
You're out there on the road, headed for the cheese capital of Wisconsin, and I hope that your special day is filled with a lot of fun! You have certainly brought a lot of fun into my life! How many people, besides you and Julie, would be willing to do this???
The good news is that at least the three of us clean up nicely too!
Have a great birthday!
You're out there on the road, headed for the cheese capital of Wisconsin, and I hope that your special day is filled with a lot of fun! You have certainly brought a lot of fun into my life! How many people, besides you and Julie, would be willing to do this???
The good news is that at least the three of us clean up nicely too!
Have a great birthday!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
F.O. - Simple Baby Hat
So, this is a simple baby hat:
I cast on this little project on June 13th, it was what I was knitting during the WWKIP / Run for Women. It is nothing fancy, but I think it turned out cute. What I did was make a small modification to a hat pattern I already had. I had a pattern to make a different, straight stockinette hat, but this time I decided to make every sixth round a purl round. It created some cute ridges. I particularly like how it turned out on the top:
This picture doesn't show it very well, I don't have a baby head to model it for me. But, there is a purl ridge right before the crown decreases. The other modification I made was instead of just pulling the yarn through the stitches at the end I did a few rows of I-cord and then finished off so it has the little top to it that I think is really cute. Details:
Needle: US 5 - 16" circular
Yarn: from stash - I think it is Koigu Kiersty
Color: Purple
Cast On: June 13th, knit a bunch on June 14th and then ignored for 2+ weeks
Cast Off: July 5th
Pattern: Modified Bailey Hat Pattern from knitwhits.com - I bought the Bailey Hat kit in a yarn store in San Francisco's Castro District many moons ago (April 2004) and I've used the pattern as a hat base many, many times since - a well spent $24!
Who is this going to? That I have not decided. I have a friend who is having a baby later this month and I thought of giving it to her. I have another friend who had a baby recently and I could give it to her. Decisions, decisions, decisions! It was a good use of some leftover stash yarn though! I like that! Now that the Oregon socks are done and I finished this little diversion all my focus has returned to the Fair Isle Sweater for mom. I'm halfway through the second sleeve. I think the second sleeve is going better than the first did. I'm determined to get this sweater completed, and I'd like to make it sooner rather than later. I have other projects I'd love to start, but I'm telling myself that I can't until I get the sweater done. Hopefully this will work as some motivation! Wish me luck!
I cast on this little project on June 13th, it was what I was knitting during the WWKIP / Run for Women. It is nothing fancy, but I think it turned out cute. What I did was make a small modification to a hat pattern I already had. I had a pattern to make a different, straight stockinette hat, but this time I decided to make every sixth round a purl round. It created some cute ridges. I particularly like how it turned out on the top:
This picture doesn't show it very well, I don't have a baby head to model it for me. But, there is a purl ridge right before the crown decreases. The other modification I made was instead of just pulling the yarn through the stitches at the end I did a few rows of I-cord and then finished off so it has the little top to it that I think is really cute. Details:
Needle: US 5 - 16" circular
Yarn: from stash - I think it is Koigu Kiersty
Color: Purple
Cast On: June 13th, knit a bunch on June 14th and then ignored for 2+ weeks
Cast Off: July 5th
Pattern: Modified Bailey Hat Pattern from knitwhits.com - I bought the Bailey Hat kit in a yarn store in San Francisco's Castro District many moons ago (April 2004) and I've used the pattern as a hat base many, many times since - a well spent $24!
Who is this going to? That I have not decided. I have a friend who is having a baby later this month and I thought of giving it to her. I have another friend who had a baby recently and I could give it to her. Decisions, decisions, decisions! It was a good use of some leftover stash yarn though! I like that! Now that the Oregon socks are done and I finished this little diversion all my focus has returned to the Fair Isle Sweater for mom. I'm halfway through the second sleeve. I think the second sleeve is going better than the first did. I'm determined to get this sweater completed, and I'd like to make it sooner rather than later. I have other projects I'd love to start, but I'm telling myself that I can't until I get the sweater done. Hopefully this will work as some motivation! Wish me luck!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July!
I hope that everyone had a fabulous 4th of July! Even though I'm a life-long Alaskan I spent many summers of my youth in California, where it gets dark at night and where you're allowed to have personal fireworks. In Anchorage, it doesn't get dark and you're not allowed to have personal fireworks. They do sell fireworks north of Anchorage in the small town of Houston. As luck would have it, we had to drive through Houston on our way to the McKinley flightseeing trip and I have a serious weakness for sparklers. I managed to convince Dave and Tyler that we needed to stop for sparklers and ended up getting much more. So, today we headed to Lou's house to share our pyrotechnics with the kids. We started with the biggest first, because that's what the kids wanted. Here is Dave walking away from the start of the show:
This was advertised as a firework that had many colors of smoke and that had paratroopers complete with little army men when they came down. There were definitely colors:
And some more colors... A lot of the parachutes carried over Lou's house into the backyard and some even to the trees behind. But, the four kids each got their own parachute, sans army men.
Alastar got a yellow parachute:
Lilly got a blue parachute:
Kieran got a red parachute, which he didn't pose with, but he gave me a big 4th of July smile. Keith also got a yellow parachute, but it was hard to get him to hold still for a photo.
Then we did flower blooms - these are some of my favorites! I love the lights and all the colors!
And more colors!
But they do end with a loud boom! You can see Keith covering his ears to muffle the sound.
Then we had smoke bombs, which just issue different colors of smoke. No loud booms. Here Lou looks over the blue and green smoke.
The kids wanted to know if the smoke was magical, we told them that the smoke would make them sleepy. So, then they ran through the smoke, but no sleep came for another 2+ hours.
Here are Alastar, Lilly, Keith, and Kieran watching the smoke and waiting for sleep to come...
Finally, we finished off the show with the dance of the Sparklers - my favorite part! The kids all ran around wishing everyone a Happy New Year (I guess they got confused - July or January - easy to confuse these two months, particularly in Alaska!). Alastar said, "This is the best day ever!" And Lilly said, "This is the best day of my life!" Dave corrected her on this to say that, "this is the best day of your life so far", we're hoping that at only five years of age Lilly has more best days ahead of her!
Obviously a good time was had by all! By the way, for folks who are living in places other than Alaska, all these photos were taken between 9:30 and 10:30pm. Here 4th of July fireworks happen in twilight at best!
This was advertised as a firework that had many colors of smoke and that had paratroopers complete with little army men when they came down. There were definitely colors:
And some more colors... A lot of the parachutes carried over Lou's house into the backyard and some even to the trees behind. But, the four kids each got their own parachute, sans army men.
Alastar got a yellow parachute:
Lilly got a blue parachute:
Kieran got a red parachute, which he didn't pose with, but he gave me a big 4th of July smile. Keith also got a yellow parachute, but it was hard to get him to hold still for a photo.
Then we did flower blooms - these are some of my favorites! I love the lights and all the colors!
And more colors!
But they do end with a loud boom! You can see Keith covering his ears to muffle the sound.
Then we had smoke bombs, which just issue different colors of smoke. No loud booms. Here Lou looks over the blue and green smoke.
The kids wanted to know if the smoke was magical, we told them that the smoke would make them sleepy. So, then they ran through the smoke, but no sleep came for another 2+ hours.
Here are Alastar, Lilly, Keith, and Kieran watching the smoke and waiting for sleep to come...
Finally, we finished off the show with the dance of the Sparklers - my favorite part! The kids all ran around wishing everyone a Happy New Year (I guess they got confused - July or January - easy to confuse these two months, particularly in Alaska!). Alastar said, "This is the best day ever!" And Lilly said, "This is the best day of my life!" Dave corrected her on this to say that, "this is the best day of your life so far", we're hoping that at only five years of age Lilly has more best days ahead of her!
Obviously a good time was had by all! By the way, for folks who are living in places other than Alaska, all these photos were taken between 9:30 and 10:30pm. Here 4th of July fireworks happen in twilight at best!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Russian River Fishing - Part II
So, Dave and Tyler decided that they were not going to let that first trip to the Russian River thwart their efforts to land a fish. They headed back down to the Russian in a quest to find the elusive Red Salmon. When they got to the river they found this fellow:
A young male brown bear, probably a 2 year old, definitely a trouble maker and Dave figures freshly booted from his momma's care. He was just hanging out in the river swimming, hoping to catch his own or someone else's fish.
Then came this pair - a sow brown bear with her cub. They were eating on the opposite bank of the river.
Then momma went into the river and the cub went out on the branch above the river.
And here is momma in the sunshine. Dave figures that she weighs about 700-800 pounds. Unfortunately, this tale does not end with the landing of many salmon. The mighty Red Salmon has earned its elusive title - no fish were caught again. However, along with these three bears Tyler and Dave saw a fourth in the parking lot and so we've decided that Tyler is definitely a bear magnet! Two fishing trips, eight bears, what other conclusion could there be!
Later this evening we headed down to Ship Creek where many folks go to catch King Salmon. We walked along the shore and told Tyler about how folks working downtown will come down during their lunch break and catch a King and then go back to work. We also saw the train...
Anchorage started as a rail town so the train is an important part of our history. Tyler heads home tonight. We sure enjoyed having him visit us! I hope he had a good time!
A young male brown bear, probably a 2 year old, definitely a trouble maker and Dave figures freshly booted from his momma's care. He was just hanging out in the river swimming, hoping to catch his own or someone else's fish.
Then came this pair - a sow brown bear with her cub. They were eating on the opposite bank of the river.
Then momma went into the river and the cub went out on the branch above the river.
And here is momma in the sunshine. Dave figures that she weighs about 700-800 pounds. Unfortunately, this tale does not end with the landing of many salmon. The mighty Red Salmon has earned its elusive title - no fish were caught again. However, along with these three bears Tyler and Dave saw a fourth in the parking lot and so we've decided that Tyler is definitely a bear magnet! Two fishing trips, eight bears, what other conclusion could there be!
Later this evening we headed down to Ship Creek where many folks go to catch King Salmon. We walked along the shore and told Tyler about how folks working downtown will come down during their lunch break and catch a King and then go back to work. We also saw the train...
Anchorage started as a rail town so the train is an important part of our history. Tyler heads home tonight. We sure enjoyed having him visit us! I hope he had a good time!
F.O. - Oregon Duck Socks
While Dave and Tyler head down to the Russian River in search of Red Salmon one more time I stayed at home with Winston and finished these:
These are Oregon Duck socks! They are for Tyler's mom, Linda, who loves the Oregon Ducks. I cast these on June 24th and finished them today, which I believe is a record for me for adult socks. I've been working on these every opportunity I get! Tyler leaves on the red eye tonight and so he can take them home to her tonight. I'm going to throw them in the wash right after this post. You can see crazy Winston in the bacground - he goes a little nuts when the camera comes out.
Details:
Yarn - Fancy Image Sock Yarn
Color - Oregon Ducks
Method - 2-at-a-time socks - one big magic loop
Needle - US2, 47" long
Pattern - Sailors Delight - from the 2-at-a-time book
Modifications - I made a short row heel using a w&t instead of the traditional heel flap. Wanted to see if I could do it as this is only my second pair of two socks at one time and it was only my second time doing the w&t heel.
I like this yarn, it was my first time working with it. I also liked doing two at a time, I want to get some more practice at this so I can get better at it.
I hope that Linda likes these and that they fit and that they keep her feet nice and cozy when she's fighting Civil War!
These are Oregon Duck socks! They are for Tyler's mom, Linda, who loves the Oregon Ducks. I cast these on June 24th and finished them today, which I believe is a record for me for adult socks. I've been working on these every opportunity I get! Tyler leaves on the red eye tonight and so he can take them home to her tonight. I'm going to throw them in the wash right after this post. You can see crazy Winston in the bacground - he goes a little nuts when the camera comes out.
Details:
Yarn - Fancy Image Sock Yarn
Color - Oregon Ducks
Method - 2-at-a-time socks - one big magic loop
Needle - US2, 47" long
Pattern - Sailors Delight - from the 2-at-a-time book
Modifications - I made a short row heel using a w&t instead of the traditional heel flap. Wanted to see if I could do it as this is only my second pair of two socks at one time and it was only my second time doing the w&t heel.
I like this yarn, it was my first time working with it. I also liked doing two at a time, I want to get some more practice at this so I can get better at it.
I hope that Linda likes these and that they fit and that they keep her feet nice and cozy when she's fighting Civil War!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Girdwood / Winner Creek / Mt. Alyeska
Today proved to be another warm and sunny day and Tyler told us that he loves to go hiking, so we decided to head south to Girdwood and hike here:
The Winner Creek Trail. It is a nice hike through the woods and one of our favorites. It is 2.5 miles from the base of the tramway at Alyeska to the hand tram across the gorge. It is also one of the best maintained trails in the Chugach State Forest.
The trail crosses other beautiful creeks along the way before you actually reach Winner Creek. Lots of beautiful scenery. Also, since we're in the woods, lots of bugs, but there is always a price with nature it seems...
Some more of the beautiful scenery. This is part of a creek that runs into Winner Creek.
Here is the hand tram. Miners used to use this spot to cross the river on their way to Crow Creek to mine for gold.
Here is Tyler, all smiles as he crosses over the gorge in the hand tram.
Dave took this photo once he got across of me back at the starting station. It gives you an idea of how long the hand tram ride is.
On his way back Tyler stopped Dave right in the center of the ride and Dave took this picture of the view straight down. Yikes!
Here are Tyler and Dave all back at the starting end of the hand tram.
On the hike back we stopped to take some pictures. Here is Tyler being one with nature.
Here is Dave also being one with nature and enjoying the refreshing spray coming off of the rapids.
Once we made it all the way back I thought it was way too nice a day to not go up the mountain and have a look around. So, we boarded the Alyeska Tramway to the top of Mt. Alyeska, Dave's old stomping grounds.
We tried to get a smiling picture of Tyler with Turnagain Arm behind him but it was too bright out so we get a squinting Tyler.
Tyler was so excited to be up in the snow that he did his impression of Chris Farley from Saturday Night Live for us. Too funny!!
We hung out at the top of the mountain enjoying the sun and the views while we waited to watch some paragliders take off. You can regularly find folks paragliding from the top of Mt. Alyeska. Here is a tandem paraglide, to catch the wind you have to run, run, run!
And then you're off! Floating high above the Girdwood Valley!
Dave and Tyler took in a bit more of the views from the Roundhouse before we headed back down the mountain and back to Anchorage. Another spectacular day!
The Winner Creek Trail. It is a nice hike through the woods and one of our favorites. It is 2.5 miles from the base of the tramway at Alyeska to the hand tram across the gorge. It is also one of the best maintained trails in the Chugach State Forest.
The trail crosses other beautiful creeks along the way before you actually reach Winner Creek. Lots of beautiful scenery. Also, since we're in the woods, lots of bugs, but there is always a price with nature it seems...
Some more of the beautiful scenery. This is part of a creek that runs into Winner Creek.
Here is the hand tram. Miners used to use this spot to cross the river on their way to Crow Creek to mine for gold.
Here is Tyler, all smiles as he crosses over the gorge in the hand tram.
Dave took this photo once he got across of me back at the starting station. It gives you an idea of how long the hand tram ride is.
On his way back Tyler stopped Dave right in the center of the ride and Dave took this picture of the view straight down. Yikes!
Here are Tyler and Dave all back at the starting end of the hand tram.
On the hike back we stopped to take some pictures. Here is Tyler being one with nature.
Here is Dave also being one with nature and enjoying the refreshing spray coming off of the rapids.
Once we made it all the way back I thought it was way too nice a day to not go up the mountain and have a look around. So, we boarded the Alyeska Tramway to the top of Mt. Alyeska, Dave's old stomping grounds.
We tried to get a smiling picture of Tyler with Turnagain Arm behind him but it was too bright out so we get a squinting Tyler.
Tyler was so excited to be up in the snow that he did his impression of Chris Farley from Saturday Night Live for us. Too funny!!
We hung out at the top of the mountain enjoying the sun and the views while we waited to watch some paragliders take off. You can regularly find folks paragliding from the top of Mt. Alyeska. Here is a tandem paraglide, to catch the wind you have to run, run, run!
And then you're off! Floating high above the Girdwood Valley!
Dave and Tyler took in a bit more of the views from the Roundhouse before we headed back down the mountain and back to Anchorage. Another spectacular day!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Best Day Ever!
Today we got to do something that I've always wanted to do! Our story begins in the small town of Talkeetna, which is about 2-1/2 hours north of Anchorage and 2-1/2 hours south of the entrance to Denali National Park. You may already see where I'm going with this, our story begins here:
K2 Aviation takes folks on flightseeing tours of Mt. McKinley. If the weather cooperates they will even do a glacier landing so that you can stand on part of the mountain, the Ruth Glacier. They take you up there in these:
Small planes equipped with both wheels and skis. Tyler had never been in a small plane before so we told him this was one more thing he could check off his list. We were trying to surprise him but he told us he was kind of tipped off when everyplace in Talkeetna talked about McKinley, flightseeing, or both -- he's a clever one that Tyler!
Here is Tyler in the co-pilot seat. We flew in a De Havilland Beaver, there were six total including our fabulous pilot Chuck. We were also joined by a very nice couple from New York City who were excited to be in Alaska.
Dave enjoys small planes, so he was pretty excited to be flying in one. When Dave first came to Alaska he worked out in King Salmon which afforded him the opportunity to fly in small planes a lot, but he hasn't gotten to ride in one for awhile so this was a real treat for him. The weather was changing as we were taking off and so we weren't certain of what we were going to see or if we'd be able to do a glacier landing, Chuck hadn't been able to land on the glacier so far today, so we were just in a holding pattern on that part of our journey.
We took off and left Talkeetna and the Susitna Valley behind. As you can see there was a lot of sun, but there was also a lot of clouds. And what were we hoping for? Well, this:
Mt. McKinley, North America's tallest peak at 20,320 feet. Chuck also told us that McKinley has more vertical rise than Mt. Everest, the world's tallest peak. This is because the base of McKinley, for climbing, starts much closer to sea level than the climbing base on Everest. So, if you were to climb both mountains you will do more climbing on McKinley to reach the summit than you would on Everest. Pretty darn impressive. As we approached McKinley the peak was blocked by clouds, but then Chuck turned the plane and the clouds parted, and there it was. It was absolutely amazing!
Not only did we get great views of McKinley, got great views of the three tallest peaks in the park. This was my view out the front, along with our great pilot Chuck, from left to right we are looking at Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and Mt. McKinley. The photo is great but it really doesn't do the experience justice.
We then flew up the Great Gorge towards the Don Sheldon Amphitheater on Ruth Glacier where we would land if we could. As we continued to fly the clouds seemed to be breaking up and Chuck thought we might be able to land.
As we flew over the glacier we saw these bright blue pools of water. The water is super oxidized, which creates the bright blue color.
As we flew up the gorge we passed by all these craggy, rocky outcroppings from the ice. All the rocks have the scars of having had the glacier scrape across them, it is amazing to think about the power of ice and water. Also, in a small plane they appear a lot closer to the plane than they apparently were. I tried to pick a picture that shows the enormity of it all, but as I said the photos don't fully explain it. Maybe if it was on a GIANT screen it would. We took over 300 photos today, and there aren't too many that I would want to discard.
We were able to land on Ruth Glacier! Here are myself, Tyler, and Dave standing on the glacier with another plane (not ours) and some of the surrounding rocks of the Don Sheldon Amphitheater. I'm no mountaineer, I will probably never attempt to climb McKinley, I really have no desire to. So, standing on this glacier on this part of the mountain is the closest I'll probably ever come. I love that I can say that I was on the mountain at all! And I'm so happy the weather turned out so nice for Tyler! Our flight was smooth back to Talkeetna, filled with more wonderful views, we talked about it for the entire drive back to Anchorage. It really was the best day ever!
K2 Aviation takes folks on flightseeing tours of Mt. McKinley. If the weather cooperates they will even do a glacier landing so that you can stand on part of the mountain, the Ruth Glacier. They take you up there in these:
Small planes equipped with both wheels and skis. Tyler had never been in a small plane before so we told him this was one more thing he could check off his list. We were trying to surprise him but he told us he was kind of tipped off when everyplace in Talkeetna talked about McKinley, flightseeing, or both -- he's a clever one that Tyler!
Here is Tyler in the co-pilot seat. We flew in a De Havilland Beaver, there were six total including our fabulous pilot Chuck. We were also joined by a very nice couple from New York City who were excited to be in Alaska.
Dave enjoys small planes, so he was pretty excited to be flying in one. When Dave first came to Alaska he worked out in King Salmon which afforded him the opportunity to fly in small planes a lot, but he hasn't gotten to ride in one for awhile so this was a real treat for him. The weather was changing as we were taking off and so we weren't certain of what we were going to see or if we'd be able to do a glacier landing, Chuck hadn't been able to land on the glacier so far today, so we were just in a holding pattern on that part of our journey.
We took off and left Talkeetna and the Susitna Valley behind. As you can see there was a lot of sun, but there was also a lot of clouds. And what were we hoping for? Well, this:
Mt. McKinley, North America's tallest peak at 20,320 feet. Chuck also told us that McKinley has more vertical rise than Mt. Everest, the world's tallest peak. This is because the base of McKinley, for climbing, starts much closer to sea level than the climbing base on Everest. So, if you were to climb both mountains you will do more climbing on McKinley to reach the summit than you would on Everest. Pretty darn impressive. As we approached McKinley the peak was blocked by clouds, but then Chuck turned the plane and the clouds parted, and there it was. It was absolutely amazing!
Not only did we get great views of McKinley, got great views of the three tallest peaks in the park. This was my view out the front, along with our great pilot Chuck, from left to right we are looking at Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and Mt. McKinley. The photo is great but it really doesn't do the experience justice.
We then flew up the Great Gorge towards the Don Sheldon Amphitheater on Ruth Glacier where we would land if we could. As we continued to fly the clouds seemed to be breaking up and Chuck thought we might be able to land.
As we flew over the glacier we saw these bright blue pools of water. The water is super oxidized, which creates the bright blue color.
As we flew up the gorge we passed by all these craggy, rocky outcroppings from the ice. All the rocks have the scars of having had the glacier scrape across them, it is amazing to think about the power of ice and water. Also, in a small plane they appear a lot closer to the plane than they apparently were. I tried to pick a picture that shows the enormity of it all, but as I said the photos don't fully explain it. Maybe if it was on a GIANT screen it would. We took over 300 photos today, and there aren't too many that I would want to discard.
We were able to land on Ruth Glacier! Here are myself, Tyler, and Dave standing on the glacier with another plane (not ours) and some of the surrounding rocks of the Don Sheldon Amphitheater. I'm no mountaineer, I will probably never attempt to climb McKinley, I really have no desire to. So, standing on this glacier on this part of the mountain is the closest I'll probably ever come. I love that I can say that I was on the mountain at all! And I'm so happy the weather turned out so nice for Tyler! Our flight was smooth back to Talkeetna, filled with more wonderful views, we talked about it for the entire drive back to Anchorage. It really was the best day ever!
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